Beloved Northwestern student’s December death ruled accidental drowning: medical examiner’s office

The death of a beloved and “effortlessly brilliant” Northwestern University doctoral student whose body was found in Lake Michigan after he left a party on the North Side and went missing has been ruled an accidental drowning, officials and the school said.

The primary cause of Peter Salvino’s death was drowning with a secondary cause ethanol intoxication, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, which ruled his death accidental. Salvino, 25, was found Dec. 20 in the 2400 block of North Cannon Drive.

Officials, family, friends and the Northwestern University community had been searching for him since Dec. 18 after he’d left a party in the 2400 block of North Geneva Terrace in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and was reported missing, according to a Chicago police alert.

He was a Ph.D. candidate in the Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience program, according to a statement from the school, which sent “heartfelt condolences” to Salvino’s family and friends after the “terrible loss.”

Salvino was a graduate research assistant in the laboratory of Dr. Lucas Pinto, where he worked alongside others to understand how neural circuits across many brain areas interact to support decision making, according to the statement. Salvino was described by his colleagues as effortlessly brilliant, kind, humble and generous with his time and intellect, according to the statement.

“My heart goes out to Peter’s family and his many, many friends,” Pinto said in the statement. “This is an incalculable loss. All of us who knew Peter know how effortlessly brilliant he was. But what we will truly miss is his endless kindness, humbleness and generosity with his time and intellect. And of course his understated dry humor,” Pinto said in the statement.

“He was universally loved by our team and will leave an indelible mark. My grief is immense. But it is surpassed by my gratitude for getting to know him, work with him and share in his contagious enthusiasm for science. We will really miss you, Peter,” Pinto said in the statement.